Robert Downey Jr. may have bowed out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe at the end of Avengers: Endgame, but speculation about a potential return to his career-defining role as Tony Stark began almost as soon as the credits had faded to black. Nearly all of the Infinity Saga’s major plot threads were connected to the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist in some way, and there’s been rumors that an entire generation of armored heroes could rise up and look to continue his legacy.
Since first being introduced in the pages of Marvel Comics in 2016, Riri Williams has become a firm favorite among readers, and many have been hoping that the teenage genius would eventually find her way to the big screen. An Ironheart show for Disney Plus has been mentioned several times in the past, of course, and some new fan art from BossLogic imagines how Black Panther‘s Letitia Wright could look in the role, which you can check out below.
Obviously, the 26 year-old actress is tied to the Black Panther franchise for the foreseeable future, and is expected to inherit the mantle of the title character following the tragic death of leading man Chadwick Boseman, but seeing Shuri as Ironheart in a future episode of What… If? makes a lot of sense in the context of the MCU.
Not only is it a fitting use of her vast intellect and technological genius, but Boseman will make his final appearance as T’Challa in an upcoming installment of the series that imagines the future King of Wakanda becoming Guardians of the Galaxy’s Star-Lord instead, and a Shuri-centric outing for the animated show would no doubt continue building on the connective tissue between the MCU’s royal siblings.
